1947–48 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team

The 1947–48 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team represented the University of Illinois.

1947–48 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
1947–48 record15–5 (7–5 Big Ten)
Head coachHarry Combes
Assistant coaches
MVPJack Burmaster
CaptainJack Burmaster
Home arenaHuff Hall
1947–48 Big Nine Conference men's basketball standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L PCT  W L PCT
Michigan10–2 .833  16–6  .727
Iowa8–4 .667  15–4  .789
Illinois7–5 .583  15–5  .750
Wisconsin7–5 .583  12–8  .600
Purdue6–6 .500  11–9  .550
Minnesota5–7 .417  10–10  .500
Ohio State5–7 .417  10–10  .500
Indiana3–9 .250  8–12  .400
Northwestern3–9 .250  6–14  .300
Rankings from AP Poll

Regular season

After 11 seasons that included three Big Ten Conference championships and a trip to the NCAA tournament, Doug Mills removed himself as head coach of the Fighting Illini, however; he remained as the University of Illinois athletic director until 1966. Replacing Mills was a former Illini player, Harry Combes. Combes was a senior during Mills' first season with the Fighting Illini, a team that won the conference championship. During Combes' 20 years as head coach, the Illini won 316 games while losing only 150, a .678 winning percentage. During conference play, his teams won 174 times while only losing 104 games. Combes still owns several Illini coaching records including winning 4 conference championships. Combes most significant feat over his 20 years was back-to-back NCAA tournament third-place finishes in 1951 and 1952. Combes came to Illinois after spending five seasons at Champaign High School where he served as boys basketball and baseball coach. While at Champaign High School, from 1939 to 1947, he compiled an impressive of 254-46 record in basketball and an equally substantial baseball record of 70-26-2 (.724) over a five-year period (1937–1942).

With the 'Whiz Kids' gone, a fresh start with a couple of All-American athletes was the focus for the new head coach. Bill Erickson, Dwight Eddleman, Jack Burmaster, Wally Osterkorn, Fred Green, Burdette Thurlby and Jim Marks returned from a team that finished with an overall record of 14-6, placing second in the Big Ten.

Roster
1947–48 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#NameHeightWeightYearPrevious schoolHometown
C 7 Robert Menke 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)185 lb (84 kg) JrElgin High School Elgin, Illinois
G 9 Dick Foley 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)160 lb (73 kg) JrParis High School Paris, Illinois
G 11 Jack Burmaster (C) 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)188 lb (85 kg) SrElgin High School Elgin, Illinois
C 13 Walter Osterkorn 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)205 lb (93 kg) SoAmundsen High School Chicago, Illinois
F 14 Burdette Thurlby 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)180 lb (82 kg) SoKirkland High School Kirkland, Illinois
F 16 Robert Doster 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)170 lb (77 kg) JrDecatur High School Decatur, Illinois
G 17 Joseph Rodriguez 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)165 lb (75 kg) SrNiagara Falls High School Niagara Falls, New York
C 19 Robert Rowe 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)200 lb (91 kg) JrWarren High School Warren, Illinois
C 21 Walt Kersulis 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)190 lb (86 kg) SoEast St. Louis Senior High School East St. Louis, Illinois
F 22 Van Anderson 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)190 lb (86 kg) SoSullivan Community High School Sullivan, Illinois
F 24 Benton Odum 6 ft 0.5 in (1.84 m)175 lb (79 kg) SoMarion High School Marion, Illinois
G 26 Stanley Fronczak 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)200 lb (91 kg) SrBrooklyn High School Brooklyn, New York
F 27 Jim Marks 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)175 lb (79 kg) JrEdwardsville High School Edwardsville, Illinois
F 29 Dwight Humphrey 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)145 lb (66 kg) JrMoline High School Moline, Illinois
F 33 Bill Erickson 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)174 lb (79 kg) SoEast High School Rockford, Illinois
F 40 Dwight Eddleman 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)190 lb (86 kg) JrCentralia High School Centralia, Illinois
C 48 Fred Green 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)206 lb (93 kg) JrUrbana High School Urbana, Illinois
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

All-Time Illini Roster

Source[1]

Schedule
Date
time, TV		 Opponent Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Non-Conference regular season
12/5/1947*
no, no		 Coe W 67–27  1–0 (0–0)
 Huff Hall (6,905)
Champaign, IL
12/8/1947*
no, no		 Notre Dame W 40–38  2–0 (0–0)
 Huff Hall (6,905)
Champaign, IL
12/13/1947*
no, no		 Pittsburgh W 70–33  3–0 (0–0)
 Huff Hall (6,905)
Champaign, IL
12/20/1947*
no, no		 Penn W 70–44  4–0 (0–0)
 Palestra (2,500)
Philadelphia, PA
12/22/1947*
no, no		 Washington State W 71–35  5–0 (0–0)
 Huff Hall (5,196)
Champaign, IL
12/23/1947*
no, no		 Washington State W 59–42  6–0 (0–0)
 Huff Hall (4,142)
Champaign, IL
1/1/1948*
no, no		 Harvard W 77–41  7–0 (0–0)
 Huff Hall (6,905)
Champaign, IL
Big Ten regular season
1/3/1948
no, no		 Wisconsin L 47–52  7–1 (0–1)
 Wisconsin Field House (13,000)
Madison, WI
1/5/1948
no, no		 Northwestern W 52–47  8–1 (1–1)
 Huff Hall (6,905)
Champaign, IL
1/10/1948
no, no		 Ohio State W 61-58  9–1 (2–1)
 Huff Hall (6,905)
Champaign, IL
1/17/1948
no, no		 Minnesota L 51–59  9–2 (2–2)
 Williams Arena (16,690)
Minneapolis, MN
1/19/1948
no, no		 Indiana
Rivalry		 W 46–45  10–2 (3–2)
 Huff Hall (6,905)
Champaign, IL
1/24/1948
no, no		 Wisconsin W 57–36  11-2 (4–2)
 Huff Hall (6,905)
Champaign, IL
1/28/1948*
no, no		 Marquette W 88–66  12–2 (4–2)
 Marquette Gymnasium (5,200)
Milwaukee, WI
2/7/1948
no, no		 Michigan L 57–66  12–3 (4–3)
 Huff Hall (6,905)
Champaign, IL
2/9/1948*
no, no		 Iowa
Rivalry		 L 61–70  12–4 (4–4)
 Iowa Field House (16,048)
Iowa City, IA
2/14/1948
no, no		 Ohio State L 50–57  12–5 (4–5)
 Ohio Expo Center Coliseum (4,449)
Columbus, OH
2/21/1948
no, no		 Purdue W 98–54  13–5 (5–5)
 Lambert Fieldhouse (6,905)
West Lafayette, IN
2/28/1948
no, no		 Northwestern W 60–43  14–5 (6–5)
 Chicago Stadium (17,680)
Chicago, IL
3/1/1948
no, no		 Indiana
Rivalry		 W 52–51  15–5 (7–5)
 The Field House (10,500)
Bloomington, IN
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Central Time.

Bold Italic connotes conference game Source[2]

Player stats
Player Games Played Field Goals Free Throws Points
Dwight Eddleman2011547277
Jack Burmaster187234178
Bill Erickson185537147
Wally Osterkorn154845141
Fred Green184321107
Jim Marks15331884
Burdette Thurlby17281874
Walt Kersulis15251868
Van Anderson1421850
Stan Fronczak1721749
Dick Foley1613632
Bob Doster73410
Cliff Fulton5306
Benton Odum2204
Joe Rodriguez2113
Tom Gallagher6102
Bob Menke1102
Robert Rowe1000
Dwight Humphrey5000

[3]

Awards and honors

Team players drafted into the NBA
RoundPickPlayerNBA Club
2-Jack BurmasterSt. Louis Bombers

[5]

References
  1. Men's Basketball Roster
  2. University of Illinois Fighting Illini Statistics Summary for 1943–44 pg.81, FightingIllini.com
  3. "Season Stats". Archived from the original on 2014-04-07. Retrieved 2014-04-01.
  4. List of MVPs
  5. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-05-03. Retrieved 2012-04-07.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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